Dear Editor:
Some people, when talking about politics, refer to themselves as progressives. Progressives believe that they have matured so much intellectually that they have progressed way beyond believing that man has any God-given natural rights or that individuals have been endowed with inalienable rights by their creator. Many progressives do not even believe in a creator.
Progressives state that any rights that we may enjoy can only be granted to us by the democratic process by a majority vote of politicians that have been elected by our fellow citizens. In states that are pro-life or pro-Second Amendment, progressives tend to hold these views. Progressive thinkers have been found in both major parties for over a hundred years. Theodore Roosevelt was a well-known progressive thinker.
Our founders crafted the Sixth Amendment so that our fellow citizens could protect us from government overreach. Progressives do not believe that our fellow citizens should have this right. Our fellow citizens engage in this protective activity by what is called jury nullification.
Routinely, Montana trial court judges do not only refuse to tell jurors about these essential rights granted to us by our founders under the Sixth Amendment, but they actually warn them that they do not have these rights by instructing jurors that they must follow the law.
Russ Fagg, a lawyer, is running for the U.S. Senate. Mr. Fagg was a trial court judge in Montana for over 20 years. Voters should inquire as to Mr. Fagg’s stance on our essential rights under the Sixth Amendment.
Dr. W. David Herbert ESQ
Billings
